Tiberio of Assisi (about 1470-1524)

Saint Clare of Assisi

Bastia, near Assisi, the early 16th century

Fresco, transferred to canvas in the 19th century

153 x 70 cm

Saint Clare (about 1194-1253) was a follower of Saint Francis and the founder of the Order of Poor Clares.

Here she is shown as a young woman holding a book and a lily. The saint spent some years with Benedictine nuns in Bastia and this picture came from a church in that town. There it was part of a fresco comprising a central image of the Virgin and Child flanked by Saints Ansanus and Sebastian and by Clare and Saint Francis. The plaster was later detached from the wall and split into five images.